Online service providers are constantly offering new services and upgrading existing services to enhance their subscribers' online experience. Subscribers have on-demand access to news, weather, financial, sports, and entertainment services as well as the ability to transmit electronic messages and to participate in online discussion groups. For example, subscribers of online service providers such as America Online or CompuServe may view and retrieve information on a wide variety of topics from repositories located throughout the world. A server may be maintained by the service provider or by a third party provider who makes information and services available through the network of computers that make up the online service.
One important consideration for subscribers is the ease at which the information and services of an online service provider are accessed. Congestion during peak hours may prevent subscribers from accessing the online service and may cause subscriber dissatisfaction.
Another important consideration for subscribers is minimizing time spent performing online activities. For example, some online service providers may charge subscribers for accessing information and services, such that efficient use of time translates into cost savings.
America Online has facilitated access to information and reduced time spent online by allowing subscribers to go online to automatically access and retrieve information that then may be considered offline. After using this feature to quickly and automatically access designated information, subscribers have the ability to read and respond to e-mail offline, read and respond to newsgroup or message board postings offline, and download collected files offline. This automatic access feature reduces the capacity requirements of an online service provider and also may reduce charges to subscribers for time spent online. Furthermore, subscribers can designate the times to go online, such as during off-peak hours, to increase the likelihood of successfully connecting to the online service.